Save vs. Paralysis

There is a phrase that gets kicked around my house from time to time: “Analysis leads to paralysis,” which is one way of saying that when tasks become too numerous or problems seem insurmountable, it’s easy to get caught up wondering how to approach the problem and therefore never make any progress. I’m going through such a period at the moment, which explains my negligence in posting. To compound matters, the “what if?” switch in my head kicked on like an oil burner in the dark of night, leaving me with a new idea to contemplate when I should be concerned with more immediate matters. Let me try an organize things a bit so I can move forward.

First off: The Dungeon Alphabet. I know some of you are no doubt tired of hearing about the damned book, but, let’s face it—it’s my book and my blog, so of course I’m going to talk about it. Especially when you consider that the PDF is currently #2 on RPGNow.com’s list of Hottest Items and that the book itself is the best-reviewed product that Goodman Games has ever released. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical as to how people were going to receive the book. It’s not your traditional supplement filled with stat blocks, new monsters, and concrete concepts, and I was worried that people might feel cheated by the book’s format. I wrote a book that I would want to have as a reference source and, luckily, it seems that I wasn’t alone in this regard. Having such a stellar cadre of artists and Zeb Cook adding to my meager prose, all with a $9.99 price tag, took the book to places that I couldn’t dream of doing alone, so as proud as I am of the book, I know I’m but one member of the remarkable team that ensured its success.

I know there are issues with certain sites having the book on backorder or with unreasonably long shipping delays. Unfortunately, this is something that I not only have no control over, but also have no information regarding. As much as I’d like for everyone to get their hands on a copy, I’m unable to assist or expedite the process. My apologies. As for reviews, Goodman Games has done a fine job of collecting online reviews of the book on The Dungeon Alphabet’s web page. One that doesn’t appear there is the review that will appear in Realms of Fantasy magazine, which hits the newsstands on February 4th. I also believe that Allan Grohe has provided a review of the book for Knockspell #4, available in the near future from Black Blade Publishing.

In the last bit of DA-related news, the winner of The Dungeon Alphabet Pre-order drawing was John Seibel of Milwaukee, WI. Congratulations, John! You’ve won yourself a copy of the book autographed by Erol Otus—something that not even its author owns.

Next up: Stonehell Dungeon: Down Night-Haunted Halls. Sales of the book and PDF have finally seemed to have plateaued. Although this was expected, it was expected much sooner and I’m extremely grateful that the book has done as well as it has—almost 220 copies have been sold when I predicted I’d move around 50. The book continues to sell, albeit slowly, and if you’ve yet to pick-up a copy, Lulu is having a 15% off sale today and tomorrow for Groundhog’s Day (of all things). Just enter the code: SHADOW upon checkout. If you’d rather not pay for a copy, you can always test your luck in this year’s One Page Dungeon Contest. I’ve donated a copy of the book to the prize swag bag; I thought it only fitting.

I intend to start on the sequel next month. I’m currently enjoying the downtime I have, but ideas are beginning to percolate in my mental stewpot. I’ve also seen the preliminary sketch of the second book’s cover piece (done again by J.A. D’Andrea) and it has gotten me excited to revisit those halls. I will be upfront about one thing: Some people felt that the first book’s format (the two-page dungeon) and the organization of the dungeon into quadrants lead to an artificiality in the dungeon and that it was the book’s biggest flaw. Although I can and do see the validity of their argument, I have no plans to change format for the sequel. There will be certain modifications—most of which were planned well in advance and hinted at by the evolution of the maps as one descends—but no gross changes. I leave that to the referee to do should he wish to.

On the home front: The Eldritch Frontier campaign and a new Long Island Meet-up group. I’ve gotten one definite player and one possible lined up for my intended Labyrinth Lord campaign. My flyer has been up a week and somebody else has taken one of the tags off it—but that means nothing, as anyone who’s posted one in a game store knows.

In an attempt to both dig up players and to determine how big of an interest there is on Long Island for old school gaming, I’ve created The Role-Playing Game Historical Society, a Meet-up group with an emphasis on older titles. There is already a Long Island Role Players Meetup group, but they seem to be mostly playing current titles and all of their meets occur in Nassau County, which isn’t very accessible to those of us in the wilds of Suffolk. The Role-Playing Game Historical Society is my attempt to determine if A) there is a dedicated old school gamer community on Long Island, and B) see how many are not located in Nassau County or willing to cross county lines to play. My lease on the group is for three months. If it dies on the vine, no harm, no foul, but if it helps some OSR people connect, I’ll consider it a success. All L.I. area old-schoolers are encouraged to join.

Speaking of Long Island-related gaming, I’ll be attending ICON 29 at SUNY Stony Brook this year (March 26-28). The guest list doesn’t do much for me so I fully expect to be haunting the gaming area for the weekend. If anyone else is planning on attending and wants to say hello or have me sign a copy of Stonehell or the DA, drop me an email and we can try to coordinate schedules.

The thing I’m thinking about when I should be thinking about other things: The Dismal Wilderness. This is the idea that sprang into my head and doesn’t seem to want to leave. While doing pre-work for the planned Eldritch Frontier game, I watched a few frontier/pioneer-themed movies and read a few books regarding similar subject matter. My intent was to inspire myself, but not in the matter I did so.

As it stands, the Eldritch Frontier sandbox is set up to be a traditional old school setting: town, dungeon, and wilderness. But the wilderness in the EF is more along the lines of borderlands between political states, with small duchies and free city-states separated by tracts of forest and mountains—plenty of places for a PC to carve out a holding while still being able to introduce wars and political maneuvering between rulers if that’s what the PCs are into.

The Dismal Wilderness idea, on the other hand, is nothing but wilderness. Vast miles of unexplored, unnamed, and unbelievably wealthy (and dangerous) wilderness. A place where treasure is comprised of rough gemstones and raw precious metals sifted from streams or the pelts of giant lynxes and beavers that dwell in the forest primeval. A place where crumbling ruins of eon-dead civilizations still can be found in deep valleys and atop soaring mountains, guarded as sacred ground by the barbarian tribes who haunt the forests.

I’m not certain if this type of wilderness setting has been approached before, but it’s gotten under my skin. During my lunchtime walks, I’ve started fleshing out a few sub-systems and rules modifications for a pioneer-style wilderness campaign, and I’ve spent a few hours sketching out a very detailed wilderness map on a Judges Guild 17” x 22” hex map. I’d like to play test a few of these ideas, so I’ve decided that the Dismal Wilderness can be found to the north of the Eldritch Frontier. If the PCs ever want to try their fortune in the undiscovered lands, they’re free to do so. Depending on whether or not I get to play test these systems and ideas, there is a chance that I might write up a digest-sized book covering this type of wilderness campaign and the rule variants to help run it.

I also had to beat to death the desire to run a White Box Barsoom game last night. Some things are just better put down before they start to occupy the mental landscape.

As you see, that is a lot of mental inventory and it’s with little wonder that I’ve been stymied to put words together for a post. I didn’t realize myself how much I’ve been pondering, but it does feel better to get it out into full view. I’m going to try and get one of the rough ideas I’ve had for the Dismal Wilderness into a post in the next day or two, just to see if anyone salutes that particular flag. Additionally, once I take care of one more pressing real life issue, I might be a little more relaxed to start outputting some more material. Stay tuned.

Judges Wanted for OPDC 2010

Alex Schröder, one of the judges from last year's One Page Dungeon Contest, is starting to organize the One Page Dungeon Contest 2010 and he needs some people with stalwart eyes and sound opinions to help out. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and the fact that my eyes still haven't recovered from 2009, I'm off of the judges' panel this time around. Nevertheless, I'm helping spread the word to get the ball rolling. If you have an interest in helping out with the adjudication this time around, please visit this link and contact Alex for more information.

Winners of the One Page Dungeon Contest

After two-and-a-half months, a minor deadline hiccup, and a whole lot of eyestrain on the part of the Six Sinister Judges, the votes have been tallied, the prizes allotted, and now it’s time to announce the winners!

This is where I normally go into what a pleasure it was to work with my fellow judges (ChattyDM, Chgowiz, Sham AKA Dave, Dave: the Game, and, in a last minute substitution, Alex Schroeder) and how impressed we were with the quality of entries. But I know you’re eager to see the winners, so, without further ado, here they are!

Honorable Mentions

The following entries slugged their way to the cusp of victory, only to be defeated by a few natural twenties and a failed saving throw. These entries put up such a determined defense that the Judges felt they should be given accolades for their quality and effort, and hereby bestow upon them the prestigious, albeit prize-less, rank of “Honorable Mention.” These entries will be included in the Winners One Page Dungeon .pdf. The categories for Honorable Mention were the decisions of the judges who selected them.

Best Aquatic Entry: “The Barnacle Caves” by Sam Kisko
Best Classic: “Ruffthroat's Rathskeller” by Lee Barber
Best Dungeon Circa 1974: “The Crumbling Dungeon” by Lord Kilgore
Best Dungeon Crawl: “Shrine of the Savage Jungle” by John Laviolette
Most Elegant: “Clockwork Crypt” by Gary S. Watkins
Funniest: “The Vareh'gra Depths” by Gary McCammon
Best Geometry: “Halls of the Mad Mage” by Justin Alexander
Best Homage: “The Omenous Portent of the Highlands Meteor” by Tim Hensley
Best Introductory One-Shot: “The Tomb of Dûrahn Oakenshield” by Dyson Logos
Best Non-Dungeon: “The Great Cloud Caper” by Jonathan Lee
Best Unconventional: “Traps-R-Us” by Chris Torrence
Best Use of Tables: “Mountain Lair of the Misanthropic Magus” by Sean Wills

Runners Up

The following entries showed great ingenuity and an abundance of overall quality. Many of them appeared on multiple Judges’ picks for the final round, demonstrating that their appeal was no fluke and that a solid dungeon (or whatever) can be appreciated no matter what school or edition your prefer to call your own. Each of the following entries will be awarded the prize listed immediately following their name. Categories were selected by the submitting judges.

Best Hack-n-Slash: “The Gray Goblin Warrens” by Christopher Brackett
Prize: Random Esoteric Creature Generator

Best Non-Fantasy Entry: “The Horror of Leatherbury House” by Michael Wolf
Prize: Bundle of Goblinoid Games products

Best Pub: “Arendt's Old Peculiar” by Antti Hulkkonen
Prize: Tabletop Adventures bundle: Bits of Darkness, Deck O'Names

Best Replayable Entry: “The Infinite Tower” by James E. Raggi IV
Prize: Otherworld Minatures - Pig Faced Orcs box set

Best Retro Use of 30x30 Space: “Megadungeon of the Mad Archmage Gary Stu” by Adam Thornton
Prize: Bundle of Knockspell and City Encounter PDFs

Best Silly Dungeon: “Maze of NAMCAP” by Patrick Riley
Prize: Bundle of Wizards of the Coast D&D 4e Adventures (or equivalent)

The Top Three

Here are the final three winners, which were also the easiest to pick. Each of the following appeared as the top picks by almost every judge, earning them the coveted top prizes and all the bragging rights that accompany the categories of Best New School Dungeon, Best Old School Dungeon, and Best Overall.

Best New School Dungeon: “Cry of the Gravegod” by Heron Prior
Prizes: Bundle of Necromancer games product, Fantasy Grounds II Licence, Wizards of the Coast - Dungeon Delve book and Adventurer's Vault book, 6 month membership to Obsidian Portal, AvatarArt free artwork, Quarterly membership to DungeonADay.com

Best Old School Dungeon: “Valley of the Necromancer Kings” by Andrew Gale
Prizes: Bundle of Brave Halfling Production products, Demon Idol Miniature, 6 month membership Obsidian Portal, Fantasy Grounds II License, AvatarArt free artwork, Bundles of Fight On! and Knockspell issues

Finally *cue drums and trumpets*

Best Overall One Page Dungeon: “Secrets of the Old City” by Simon Bull
Prizes: Patron membership of Wolfgang Baur’s Open Design, Kobold Guide to Game Design, Quarterly membership to Monte Cook’s Dungeon a Day, A full Licence for Smitework’s Fantasy Grounds II, 1 year membership to Obsidian Portal, 50$ Gift Certificate from One-Bookshelf, Bundles of Fight On! and Knockspell issues.

I offer my congratulations to all the winners and my profound respect to every one of you who entered. Having the opportunity to read the 112 entries taught me a lot about what I like and don’t like in an adventure, as well as gave me a few hints, pointers, and things to steal outright next time I’m behind the screen.

Chatty and Chgowiz now inherit the not-so-easy task of turning this mass of entries into a set of .pdfs to unleash upon the world. I wish them the best of luck and hope that, once completed, you all take the time to check out the entries for yourselves.

I have another post coming up in which I say a few nice things about some of my own picks that came close to taking home a prize, but fell short a few feet from the finish line. Hopefully that might encourage those authors to keep working at their craft because they’ve really got some great ideas.

For more details about the One Page Dungeon Contest and the .pdf release, please wander over to ChattyDm's or Chgowiz's blogs, where the two masterminds behind the contest go into explicit detail as to things to come.

The Real Life Cha-Cha-Cha

I have family in town visiting this week and the One Page Dungeon Contest is headed into the final round where the Six Sinister Judges determine who's going to face off in Thunderdome for the grand swag. Postings will continue uninterrupted throughout the week but I won't have a chance to catch up on comments until after the weekend. Just so you don't think I'm ignoring you all...

Observations from the One Page Dungeon Contest

I'm in the process of picking my favorites from the more than one hundred entries that the One Page Dungeon Contest received. It's a slow but steady task, as I want to make sure that everyone gets equal consideration for their work.

I won't comment on individual entries or let slip which have been my favorites of those I've read, but I will share two things that have occurred to me during the judging so far. One is that I believe I can determine with 95% accuracy what a contestant's preferred version of D&D is by whether or not they included a description of "Lighting" for their dungeon. This must be something that came into vogue with 3rd edition or later, because it was always assumed in the earlier editions that dungeons were dark - pitch black even - and therefore any need to specify the lighting conditions was unnecessary. This observation has no impact on how I score a particular entry, but it crops up so regularly that I thought it was worth commenting on.

Secondly (and I'm not finished reading all the entries yet so I may still be surprised), since the contest has ended and I can say this, is that if someone had entered a dungeon that featured six asthmatic kobolds guarding the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords (like the dungeons I used to write when I was ten did), I would have lobbied hard for that dungeon to be named "Most Totally Radical Dungeon Ever!!!"

In all seriousness though, you folks had some amazing ideas and everyone who took the chance to enter their dungeons, knowing they'd be viewed by complete strangers, should be proud. That takes some chutzpah.

One Page Dungeon Contest Saves vs. Death Ray

Apparently there was some misinterpretation regarding at what time the One Page Dungeon Contest officially ended, leaving some entries shut outside the inn’s doors while the judges rolled around in the giant pile of prizes, ate peeled dates, and languidly reclined under the wafting breeze of ostrich-plume fans within. To compensate for this, Chgowiz and ChattyDM have graciously extended the deadline of the contest until May 21st, 2009 at 8:00 AM E.S.T. If you missed the deadline or have had a sudden inspiration for a One Page Dungeon, you have another week to enter your creation. After that time, however, the judges are going back for our dates and ostrich-plume fans and that’s it. Move it or lose it, people.

Last Call for One Page Dungeon Submissions

This is it, folks. The One Page Dungeon Contest officially draws to a close on May 14th at midnight EST. If you’ve been thinking about entering but keep putting it off, this is your final chance to break out the pencils and graph paper (or fire up your graphics program of choice) and get that entry in! Don’t let someone else walk away with the valuable prizes you so richly deserve.

Pardon the Interruption

As you no doubt noticed, today was the first time since I started writing the SoTPR that I missed an entry without prior notice of a delay or day off. For that, I apologize. With the coming of spring to the lower New York area, so has come the annual battle in which my immune system is pitted against the forces of contagion, and contagion seems to be winning. I can only take solace in the knowledge that, as far as I can ascertain, it’s not the strain of swine flu that has arrived on the shores of New York which I’m engaged in combat with. Today was spent catching up on some much needed rest, so the opportunity to remark upon my absence has only now presented itself.

Since I’m coherent enough to write a bit before I lapse into slumber yet again, I need to take to this opportunity to reveal some information of the “good news, bad news” variety. Following tradition, we will start with the bad news.

The bad news is that, until the end of May, there’s going to be a slow down on this electronic fish-wrapper. I’m not going completely dark, but the Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule is most certainly going to be set aside for the next few weeks. There are a few reasons for this, some of which is the “good news,” but the primary one is that I’m feeling burned out about thinking of, writing about, and creating new material for the original role-playing game. Everybody needs some time off occasionally, and I’ve been running mostly without a hitch for nine months now – a time which has indeed gestated both some beautiful and horrific children of the mind. The time has come to take a step back and breathe some fresh air. I’ve even taken a sabbatical from my weekly gaming group to allow me to ponder other thoughts and dream new dreams about something other than dank dungeons for a little bit. Postings here for the next few weeks will still be role-playing related, but it’s time to explore new fields and focus less on game mechanics for a while. In addition, these posts will come when time and the creative process allows, rather than a predetermined schedule. Once we get past May, it is my hope to return to the M/W/F schedule with a refreshed mind ready for another foray back into the dungeon.

Now the good news: by suspending the regular blogging schedule, I hope to redirect some of that time into getting the Stonehell compilation moved closer to the finish line. I’m still not making any announcements as to when that might see completion but it hasn’t been neglected in the least. I’ve met and overcome a few issues with how I was going to compile the entire upper levels of the dungeon into one supplement, and those victories have removed some of the major stumbling blocks from my path. I’m going to balance my time between completing Stonehell and taking a breather from the constant design process. I think the end result will be much stronger because I’ll have avoided a crashing complete and utter burn out at the very end of it. I’ll keep folks posted as to the progress on that work as it comes along, just so you know I’m not neglecting it.

This blogging slow down is in no way effecting my participation in the One Page Dungeon Contest, which is approaching the midpoint for the deadline, by the way, and I am anticipating looking at what the contestants have to offer it. A few new prizes have been added since the original announcement, so if you haven’t checked it out recently, or you’re still on the fence about entering, go visit that link.

Finally, I see two big announcements coming over the horizon. I’m extremely excited about both of them but can’t even hint as to what they are. I’ll only state that this summer looks to be a very exciting time for both myself and fans of this blog.

The One-Page Dungeon Contest

The time has come, my friends, to set aside the petty rivalries and Wars of Edition; to gather together in the confines of our collective Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion and celebrate the dungeon lairs that tie us all together as role-playing enthusiasts. It is in this spirit of gaming brotherhood that I’m pleased to announce “The One-Page Dungeon Contest!”

As many of you are no doubt aware, some months ago, Sham of Sham’s Grog n’ Blog unleashed a horrible beauty upon the gaming world: the concept of the One-Page Dungeon. Following closely on the heels of that birth was Chgowiz’s fine template that solidified Sham’s idea into an easy-to-use (and modify) download. Inspired by both the concept and the template, I grabbed the idea and started running. For a time, the One-Page Dungeon dwelled solely in the realm of the Old School Renaissance. Recently though, that One-Page Dungeon was discovered and embraced by Philippe-Antoine – better known as Chatty DM – and the virus has spread across editions. With this cross-infection, now comes yet another permutation of mad genius: The One-Page Dungeon Contest.

Brought to you by a collaboration between Chgowiz and ChattyDM, the contest invites all of you to submit your best single page dungeon to vie for dominance in the field of Dungeon Brevity. Readers are asked to submit a dungeon level using the One-Page Dungeon Template and detailed in an “edition neutral” format (e.g. you can name your monsters but leave out the game stats) which will then be judged in a number of different categories. Think you have the stuff to take the prize for “Most creative use of a trap” or “Funniest dungeon?" Or are you bold enough to try for “Best All Around?” These are just a few of the criteria against which entries will be judged. Those of you lucky and talented enough to claim the top slot for each category will be rewarded beyond the dreams of Croesus! Or at least take home some cool RPG swag. Once we've named winners, we'll be compiling a FREE PDF of the winners/runner-ups and releasing it to the community at large.

The contest begins today, April 14th and runs through at May 14th at midnight EST. Entries will be evaluated by a panel of six judges and prizes will be awarded to the winners of several different categories including:

• Best All Around (Contest Grand Prize)
  
• Grand Prize Runner-Up: Old School Dungeon Design
  
• Grand Prize Runner-Up: New Edition Dungeon Design
  
• Alternative prize categories: Most Creative Trap, Funniest, Most Gonzo, for example. Due to the bevy of prizes available, other categories are bound to be considered.

The Judges

Consisting of bloggers representing both the Old and the New Schools, the One-Page Dungeon Contest will be judged by an inner cabal consisting of:

• Chgowiz from Old Guy RPG Blog
  
• ChattyDM from Musings of the Chatty DM
  
• Sham from Sham's Grog n Blog
  
• Graham from Critical Ankle Bites
  
• Dave from Critical-Hits.com
  
• Yours truly: Amityville Mike from The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope

Contest Rules

1. Participants create a one page dungeon using the template found here. For a contest entry example see here. NOTE TO SoTPR READERS: While you’re free to consult my Stonehell levels for inspiration and examples, contest entries must be limited to a single page as per the original One-Page Dungeon Template.

2. The dungeon must have the following features:

• Name of Dungeon
  
• Map
  
• Dungeon Key (in an edition-neutral form: Description of monsters, Treasure, Traps, etc... No game stats)
  
• OPTIONAL (If you can fit them on one page...)
  
  
  • Wandering Monster or Random Event tables or a list of scripted "events" that can occur over the adventure
    
  • Background
    
  • Additional descriptions that add to the dungeon, such as detailed description of trap or trick or unique feature.

3. Only one entry per participant. Entry may win grand prize or one of the runner up prizes, plus any number of alternative prize categories.

4. Participants are allowed to modify the template, provided it remains a one-page entry.

5. Submission must be emailed in PDF, Word or Open Office format at the following address: onepage@chattydm.net

6. Submitting a dungeon to the contest releases it under the Creative Common Share-alike license (US 2008) with credit to the contest participant.

7. Contest closes on May 14th 2009 at Midnight EST.

Now for the good stuff: the Prize Swag Bag! Category winners will have their efforts rewarded with the following goodies:

Grand Prize
Patron membership of Open Design
Quarterly membership of Dungeon a Day
Fantasy Grounds II License
1 year membership to Obsidian Portal
50$ Gift Certificate for PDFs

Grand Prize Runner-Up: Old School Dungeon Design
Bundle of Necromancer games product
Bundle of Brave Halfling Production products
Otherworld Miniatures Demon Idol Miniature
Bundles of Fight On and Knockspell issues
Bits of Darkness Bundle
6 month membership Obsidian Portal

Grand Prize Runner-Up: New Edition Dungeon Design
WotC's Dungeon Delve
Fantasy Grounds II License
Quarterly membership to DungeonADay
6 month membership Obsidian Portal

To divide among other Categories
Kobold's Guide to Game Design
Bundle of Brave Halfling Production products
Bundle of Knockspell and City Encounter PDFs
Bundle of Fight On Magazine (issues 1-4)
Bits of Darkness Bundle
Deck O'Names Set
WotC's Adventures
Otherworld Miniatures - Pig Faced Orcs (Or Box of Minis)
Goodman Games Random Esoteric Creature Generator

Contest prizes have been provided by the following kind sponsors:
Brave Halfing Publishings
Fight On Magazine
Goodman Games
Malhavoc Press
Mythmere Games
Necromancer Games
Obsidian Portal
Open Designs
Otherworld Miniatures
Smiteworks
Tabletop Adventure

If you have any questions about the contest, please feel free to contact either Phil (phil.a.menard@gmail.com) and/or Michael (chgowiz@gmail.com.)

I join my fellow judges in wishing all the contestents “Good Luck!” and I’m eagerly looking forward to see what awaits all of us in the month ahead.